Optical Illusion
by Sonya Omun
Summary: One-shot. At times, Ritsuka can almost forget that he doesn't know the real Soubi at all.


**OPTICAL ILLUSION**

The afternoon had started so well.

It was one of the painfully rare days that Ritsuka had come bounding through the school gates, filled with wide-eyed stories about the school project that Yuiko, Yayoi and he had been working on.

Soubi had smiled all throughout Ritsuka's cheerful colloquy during the walk to his house, happy that Ritsuka seemed pleased with his small hums of interest as he immersed himself in the sound of Ritsuka's voice, rather than the actual words- looming puberty cracking the high notes of his childish giddiness. Ritsuka's hand fitting snugly in Soubi's, placed there on Ritsuka's own instigation as they had started walking, occupied Soubi's focus more than he would have cared to admit.

The uncharacteristic warmth spreading through his sparingly furnished room had nothing to do with the broad strips of sunlight shifting across the floor at the leisurely pace of time, Soubi mused. The blearily blue sky stretching beyond the windows was not as bright as Ritsuka's smile while he bounced up and down on his knees on Soubi's bed.

'We laughed so hard,' Ritsuka finished breathlessly, cheeks rosy in remembrance of his mirth, 'Sensei got mad at us.'

Soubi allowed himself a chuckle at Ritsuka's cheeky grin, mostly to see the additional flush of pleasure on Ritsuka's glowing face.

Ritsuka launched into another anecdote about his school day and Soubi settled next to him on the bed and removed his glasses, intending to clean the lenses. The bright sunlight exasperated every fleck of dirt and greasy fingerprint to peevish levels.

Ritsuka grabbed the small arch of metal between the pieces of glass just as Soubi raised his spectacles to replace them on his nose. It was reflex that made Soubi keep his hold as Ritsuka tried to pluck the glasses from his grasp. Placid eyes met shimmering ones, neither relinquishing the object held between them.

Still holding onto his glasses with one hand, Soubi intended to grab Ritsuka's extended one, but was caught by surprise when Ritsuka swatted at him with his own free hand, face alight with mischief as he teased his Fighter. The most careful tug-of-war ensued over the glasses while Ritsuka kept pawing at Soubi's grabbing hand like an over-excited kitten.

Suddenly, with a speed that made Ritsuka give a shrieking laugh, Soubi changed tactic, instead catching hold of Ritsuka's swatting hand, enveloping it whole in his larger one. Ritsuka sank back further onto his heels as Soubi leaned closer to him.

'Please let go, Ritsuka.'

Still smiling brightly, Ritsuka fruitlessly wrenched on his arm in an attempt to free himself. 'Just for a minute!'

Soubi gave an experimental pull on the glasses and Ritsuka's arm extended to follow, careful with the fragile item, but unwilling to let go. Soubi pulled his arm further back, until Ritsuka was precariously leaning back on his knees, torso twisted to accommodate pulling on one arm and being pulled on the other while Soubi was still looming in close.

'They're very important,' Soubi said, which, judging by the bound of his tail, only reignited Ritsuka's eagerness.

'I'll be careful!' Ritsuka tried to twist his wrist in Soubi's grasp, but only succeeded in giving Soubi better perch by slipping his thumb and forefinger around the base of Ritsuka's wrist. The huff of simulated annoyance that Ritsuka made came out as a small pant as he gave another futile tug.

'Soubi!' It came out as something of a giggling whine, 'Let go!' He gave his arm another almighty wrench and toppled backwards into the pillows as Soubi promptly obeyed. The glare Ritsuka tried to level Soubi was ruined somewhat by his beaming smile of self-satisfaction as the triumphantly clutched Soubi's glasses.

Soubi conceded his defeat with a bow of his head, conveniently hiding his smile, and twisted to lie down on his back, legs stretched out besides Ritsuka, bodies touching in a way that could have been coincidental.

Lighting a smoke to steady and occupy his zealous hands, Soubi propped an arm under his head and looked at Ritsuka turning the glasses over in his hands, scrutinizing the minimalist frame and inauspiciously cut pieces of glass. Soubi idly wondered if he should offer to fetch Ritsuka's camera from his bag, so Ritsuka could capture the image, snap a memory. Ritsuka, however, was finished examining and slipped Soubi's glasses onto his own nose.

Ritsuka stared, frowned, tilted his chin down to peer over the edge of the spectacles, looked through them again, frowned deeper, repeated the action and:

'Soubi! These are glass lenses!'

A smile quirked Soubi's lips and he rolled onto his side, resting his cheek against the mattress and reached out a hand until his fingers brushed the first part of Ritsuka he could find. He followed the bony contours of Ritsuka's knee through the fabric of his jeans, Soubi's own knee resting against Ritsuka's left thigh from his new position.

'That doesn't mean they're not important,' Soubi said, a little distracted as he willed his exploring fingers to still, lest they started wandering on their own accord.

'Why would you need these?' Ritsuka's face was scrunched up in confusion as he removed and replaced the spectacles, still appearing incredulous at Soubi's deception.

Ritsuka's tail settled on the curve of Soubi's calf and Soubi wriggled his feet, the small movement exemplifying the warm pressure on his leg. 'I don't need them to see.'

'Then why?' Ritsuka asked, staring at him in puzzlement.

Soubi's lips curved more, but his smile lessened. 'For others to see me.'

Ritsuka's lips moved to soundlessly repeat the answer before his quizzical look was replaced with one of aggravation and he looked away with a roll of his eyes. The tail on Soubi's calf sprang up to give two furry beats, then pulled away entirely, curling closer to Ritsuka's body. Soubi made up for the loss of contact by scooting his hand further up Ritsuka's knee, just a little bit.

'Seimei gave them to me,' Soubi didn't look up as the said it, never when he said that name, instead focusing on the gentle burn of denim beneath his fingers, which had begun rubbing small circles without being bidden. He could hear, rather that seen, Ritsuka turn back his attention.

'Why?' It came out almost a whisper, small and uncertain.

Soubi twisted his upper body closer to Ritsuka, bending his body at an angle to keep his legs pressed to Ritsuka as well and took Ritsuka's hands, still holding his glasses, into his own. Soubi first took the time to trace the cold outline of one of the lenses before carefully stroking up Ritsuka's thumb, still not lifting his eyes.

Ritsuka allowed the touch to continue and Soubi felt the hands in his relax as he ran his thumb over one of the rivulets of blue veins spidering across the back of Ritsuka's hand. With a tick, the glasses slipped from Ritsuka's grip and ended up on the small stretch of bed between Soubi's sternum and Ritsuka's bent knees.

Ritsuka's thumb curled around to run over Soubi's fingers as he ran them across Ritsuka's palm. Straining his head forward, off the bed, Soubi pressed a reverent kiss to Ritsuka's knuckle before answering the question.

'He said fools underestimate their opponents on baseless assumptions about their appearance,' Soubi didn't finish the quote, omitting Seimei's addition of the time that fools had no right to exist in his perfect world.

Edging ever closer, Soubi studied the perfect curvature of Ritsuka's cuticles, rough and reddened patches betraying a secret habit of biting them.

'It's a ruse.'

Though Soubi had long since stopped being surprised at the age-inappropriate extent of Ritsuka's vocabulary, at this; he looked up. The newly added note to Ritsuka's voice striking a familiar echo in the hollow of Soubi's chest.

Ritsuka was frowning again, but this wasn't the thoughtful narrowing of astute eyes, it was a perturbation in his features, a wrinkle that folded his face into a mask of weariness that should be beyond a young teen.

'Ritsuka?' Soubi's hands felt cold when Ritsuka pried his touch away to pick up the spindly spectacles again.

Ritsuka's voice sounded unnaturally high and one of the corners of his mouth quivered as he gave Soubi a wry smile.

'I always liked your glasses,' his teeth roughly scraped over his lower lip before the quivering smile returned, 'I think they suit you, Soubi.'

Reaching out, Ritsuka gingerly swept Soubi's hair from his face, who raised himself a little higher to allow Ritsuka better access. Ritsuka lifted Soubi's glasses in both hands and slipped them onto the bridge of his nose, then running a caress down Soubi's cheekbones.

Soubi's eyes slid shut as Ritsuka's touch lingered, hands resting on Soubi's cheeks. Ritsuka's thumbs came up to slide down either side of Soubi's nose and then ghosting over Soubi's lips, which parted minutely but immediately.

They held like that for a moment, Soubi not daring to move, unaware of the breath he was holding.

'I'm a fool.'

The haze addling Soubi's thoughts made him slow to grasp the words and Ritsuka was already off the bed by the time Soubi opened his eyes. He still hadn't moved when Ritsuka stormed out the door with the choked order not to follow.

**A/N: All constructive criticism is greatly appreciated!**

**Edit 04/01/2011: some minor alterations made.  
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